Informing the discussion around oil sands

September 3, 2014

What’s in your tank?

Pulling up to the pump to replenish our fuel tank inevitably triggers some familiar thoughts.

“How much is filling up going to cost me this time?”

“My windshield is one big insect smear. Should I bother cleaning it?”

“Ooh. This one’s got fresh coffee and donuts. Do I have time to go in?”

Of all the things that cross our mind at this moment, few of us ponder the crude oil source from which our just-purchased fuel was derived (unless, perhaps, you work for an integrated energy producer.)

Fuelling fleets

But for corporate fleet managers whose vehicles consume fuel in the order of thousands of times greater than the average consumer, that fuel’s crude oil source may be top of mind.

That’s because oil sands development critics are actively pressuring North American major corporations with large vehicle fleets like Coca-Cola and Pepsi to shun fuels derived from oil sands-based crude. These critics cast oil sands crude as an outlier among U.S. crudes because oil sands production involves higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than production from other sources.

Oil sands crude versus U.S. oil supply

It’s true that oil production from the oil sands does have, on average, higher GHG emissions than conventional crude oil production. According to IHS Cera, fuels from oil sands produce between one and 19 per cent more GHG emissions over the fuel’s entire life cycle, from production through to refining and combustion.

But while oil sands fuels may have higher GHG emissions than the average, it doesn’t mean that they’re grossly different. In fact, oil sands crude is actually within the same GHG intensity range as 45 per cent of the oil supplied to U.S. refineries in 2012, IHS Cera noted.

We know crude oil sources won’t dominate your thoughts at the moment of your next fill up. And that’s okay. But the next time you’re at Canada’s Gas Station and if your mind happens to drift from slushies, wiper fluid and car washes, we thought you’d like to have these facts.

Oil Sands Question and Response (OSQAR) is a blog created by Suncor Energy to support constructive dialogue about the oil sands. In our weekly posts, we talk about the energy industry, environmental impact, tailings management and reclamation, water management and the social and economic implications of oil sands development.

Our oil sands operations are near Fort McMurray, Alberta, where we recover bitumen from oil sands through mining and in situ operations. The bitumen from both operations is then upgraded to refinery-ready feedstock and diesel fuel. More about the where and the what of the oil sands can be found on our oil sands resource page.